Wednesday, May 25, 2011

This baby is the size of a lime now! I SWEAR I have felt flutters the last few days. I know, I know, it should be too early, that a doctor would just tell me that it is gas or something. Well, I still think it is flutters! Looking forward to the next appointment!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Yesterday's appt. went great. Lab results from Tuesday all are within normal range. My blood pressure was good today -122/78. My urine today was within normal range(they check it before every appt). They listened to the heart beat through my belly/uterus - baby's heart rate was great. My uterus is sticking up just a tiny bit - exactly where it should be. Based on the 5 day embryo transfer, they calculated the due date Dec 7th. I return on Wed, June 8. I am supposed to have my thyroid levels checked before this appt. This will be the first time meeting the actual OB doctor. He will be working in conjunction with the nurse midwives. They did want me to take an extra dose of thyroid medicine 3 times a week. It is their standard protocol during pregnancy. I will start that tomorrow morning. The appt.that happens in July will most likely be another ultrasound - about18 weeks along. Right now, the parents do NOT want to find out the gender of the baby. I havn't decided if I will find out or not. We are all doing good!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Today's appt. was simply meeting with a teaching nurse. We reviewed my past records, updated stuff, etc. They gave me a folder that explained services available and a list of OTC medication I can take during the pregnancy. I drank my orange glucose drink, got blood work done to check glucose levels and got another HIV test. If I don't get one, they will stick the baby after he/she is born. I also had to do a urine sample. Hopefully the nurse will discuss all the results with me at Thursday's appt. I imagine they will listen to the heartbeat on Thursday too. Looking forwardto hearing that heartbeat again!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

As I am typing, I glance down at my belly and it looks more than fat.....it looks a little pregnant! :) I have been holding/resting my hands on my belly a bit more and several times in the last couple of days I have caught a look of my profile and yep - my pregnant belly is starting to show. yay! Looking forward to my first OB appointments coming up.

My family

Welcome to my surrogacy blog!

Hi. My name is Carla. I am married to Brian. We have been married almost 10 years. We had 3 children in 2.5 years: Gareth (6-06), Zane (9-07), and Iris (1-09). Brian works as a web programmer. I used to be a social worker for people with developmental disabilities, but now stay home with our children.

In June 2009, we moved from a nice, cookie cutter subdivision to a humble, little, farm house, on 10 acres, in rural east central Illinois. We are interested in living a simpler life moving towards self sufficiency. We are interested in homesteading, gardening, beekeeping, and atheism/secular humanism/skepticism. I am a crafter of all sorts of creations - love to sew and quilt, and have many other interests, including weaving, pottery, painting, scrapbooking, among other things.

Our family feels complete - we are very done having babies for ourselves! My husband had a vasectomy to ensure that we would not be surprised with another baby.

I started thinking about becoming a gestational surrogate during my second pregnancy. The feelings I had did not fade, so here we are now. We were lucky enough to conceive quickly/naturally and have "easy" pregnancies. I have friends and have read about many people that have fertility issues and it does not come so easily for them. It saddens me that they can not fulfill their dreams. I was able to help a couple complete their family, delivering a baby girl, in December 2011. I am now on my second and final journey, helping 2 men from Argentina become daddies, with additional help from an egg donor.

Feel free to ask any questions. I tend to be an open book as long as there is genuine, sincere, respectful interest.